But Flutterwave and other fintechs will now soon face off with M-Pesa, the region’s mobile money behemoth once the new Payments Sytems Act goes live. CBK governor Kamau Thugge is upbeat the bank’s bid to modernise the payments statute, originally crafted in 2011, will further entrench digital payments solutions in the market. It will be a reprieve for Kenya’s digital payments sector, which is often criticised for its complacency due to a lack of robust challenges to M-Pesa’s dominance. This approach mirrors the transformative impact M-Pesa had on the mobile money market, which revolutionised financial inclusion in Kenya and beyond. Currently, Kenya’s financial regulations, including the Central Bank of Kenya Act and others, have been criticised for their ambiguity.
